Yai Restaurant, Thai Town and Los Feliz

It's always great to hear about another restaurant in Thai Town, and that's especially the case when the recommendation comes from well known local Thai chef Jet Tila. In fact, Yai was number one on the list of restaurants that Jet put together for KCRW's Good Food a few weeks ago, so that was more than enough reason for me to try it. Even better, Jet provided a list of his favorite dishes at each restaurant which made the discovery process even easier.

I'd had deep fried catfish at the old Palms Thai before, a whole fish, flash-fried to a crispy golden crunch while the inside stays moist and tender. Yai fries the whole fish too, but it's been cut cross-wise in half-inch slivers so that you can pick up and eat each little piece which is crispy almost all the way through. It's served with a red chile paste on the side so you can add your own level of kick. Jet recommended the Pad Thai but I couldn't resist trying Pad Kee Mao instead, my favorite Thai noodle dish made with the wider rice noodles which are pan fried with chicken and topped with some fresh basil. Perhaps my favorite dish though was the starter of papaya salad that my friend David suggested we order. The sweetness of the fresh papaya played perfectly with the salty, savory fish sauce and dried shrimp while chile peppers packed some heat. It's that amazing balance of flavors that makes Thai food so satisfying and exciting all at once. I look forward to working my way down the rest of Jet's list of favorites and then making my way back to the top to try Yai Restaurant again.

UPDATE:

A second outpost of Yai's Restaurant opened in February in the strip center at the corner of Hollywood and Vermont. The spanking clean interior and relatively more upscale digs make the whole Yai experience all around more pleasant. Best of all, the food is just as good and the servers couldn't have been nicer.

Yai Restaurant
5757 Hollywood Blvd, just east of Western Ave
Hollywood
323 462-0292

and

1627 N Vermont Ave
Los Feliz
323 644-1076

Skooby's Hot Dogs, Hollywood and Hermosa Beach

Last Saturday after seeing a great Clap Your Hands Say Yeah show at the Henry Fonda, I was determined to find some food before I made my way home. One of my friends has often described me as resolute, and at least when it comes to food that much is true: I wanted a chili cheese dog and by god I was going to have one. Lucky for me, not only does Skooby's stay open till all hours of the night (3 am on weekends), they make an excellent and dare I say high quality chili dog. Both the dog and bun are custom made for Skooby's and the fries they make are hand-cut--much like the ones at In N Out--and served with a roasted red pepper aioli. Take that, Pinks. My only complaint was that they don't take credit cards and so I had to wander up Hollywood Blvd at 1 am checking various tattoo parlos and bondage gear shops for an ATM. Still, a person could do a lot worse than to end up at Skooby's after a late night out in Hollywood. As for why you'd be out at all in Hermosa Beach, you're on your own.

Skooby's
6654 Hollywood Blvd (@ Cherokee)
Hollywood

and

502 PCH
Hermosa Beach

Square One Dining, Hollywood

Square One is definitely my kind of place. Not only do they serve brunch till 4 pm (they're open only from 8-4 daily except Mondays), but the food is of such high quality and the presentation and attention to detail so on point that they truly do fall into that rarified category of restaurants that show love and respect for the food they serve. The hollandaise-covered poached eggs with house-cured salmon served on a bed of frisee and potato pancakes that I ate for brunch today at 3 pm was surely love on a plate. The mixed greens salad in a vinaigrette that accompanied it was garnished with the thinnest, most perfectly uniform julienne of fresh radishes; a light dusting of red cayenne pepper topped the hollandaise; the thick smoky bacon that I stole off of Nicole's plate had been cooked to a soft crunch; orange juice is fresh-squeezed. I can't wait to go back to try their lunch menu, particularly the olive oil poached albacore tuna sandwich on five grain bread. According to their website, Square One believes in serving only organic, locally sourced produce and it shows. Not surprisingly, I hear there can be quite a crowd early in the day waiting to get a seat. Here's where sleeping in offers an added bonus--by arriving after the rush today not only did we have our choice of prime patio tables, but we had the perfect vantage point from which to observe the always curious comings-and-goings at the Scientology Center across the street.

Square One Dining
4854 Fountain Ave
Hollywood
323 661-1109